Product testing dates

A January 23 2019 product review of kitchen rangehoods was interesting, until I noticed that all the products I looked at had been tested in 2017. I find this disappointing & misleading.

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My understanding is Choice often tests new models when they are released for sale by a manufacturer. Previously tested models can also still available for purchase after these new models are released. As a result, Choice updates the previous test reports with the assessments of the new models to ensure the currency of the results/assessments on their websites and those available for purchase. This especially occurs then the testing regime has not changed since the previous testing program.

Maybe to overcome confusion, Choice could add a filter which has new model testing…a bit like they do in their magazine to differentiate between previously tested and newly tested models. The other advantage of this approach is it may provide an indication of new and old models available for sale, and allow consumer to bargain harder when purchasing an older model.

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Perhaps rather than using the testing date, use the release date of the product if know, This way it won’t matter when Choice tests vs the actual age of the product.

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Thanks for the feedback @katecu, and sorry if you found the results misleading. @phb’s explanation is correct, we continue to include previously tested models that are still available on the market and we take pains to ensure continuity in our test results. The result you see from 2017 is the same as you would find if we tested it today, except that we would need to spend time and resources to purchase this item again. The article is only updated to reflect the new products that have been tested.

I’ll be sure to pass on your feedback to the product testing team.

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